Central Australia gets new suicide bereavement service

A new suicide bereavement program for central Australia will be launched in Alice Springs today.

The StandBy Response Service will be run by United Synergies in partnership with the Mental Health Association of Central Australia.

National StandBy Response coordinator Jill Fisher says the 24-hour crisis response service will use existing emergency and community programs.

"What we're doing is simply bringing in a model to harness that commitment, harness that enthusiasm and ensure there is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week ability to respond when and if a suicide occurs when people need support - whether that's a workplace, whether it's a school," she said.

Ms Fisher says the crisis response service will be fully operating by mid-October.

She says it will provide a central point of contact for those in need, after a suicide death.

"It has been proven to be very cost-effective, we have had an economic evaluation to actually demonstrate it, that this program actually not just saves lives but saves money as well through better coordination, saving people that terrible experience of having to try and find help," she said.